A new survey has found that associations are under increased pressure to demonstrate their value.

The Looking Forward Impact 2026 report, released last week by Association Laboratory, Inc., notes that associations face increased competition “for education, advocacy, and community…particularly by for-profit organizations.” That shift, combined with substantial “general economic pressures and financial uncertainty” among members, means that joining an association is increasingly perceived by many as an option, not a necessity. 

The report is based on a survey of 206 membership and trade associations conducted between November 2025 and January 2026.

In a webinar hosted last Thursday by Association Laboratory to discuss the findings, founder Dean West, FASAE, said that the numbers suggest that this shift represents more than just a down period. “We can’t start making decisions based on patience,” he said. “This volatility is structural.”

For instance, ongoing consolidation in many industries means there are fewer companies, and that the ones remaining are more likely to look internally to handle training and other tasks traditionally handled by associations. And a more unpredictable legislative environment, especially at the federal level, means that associations have a more difficult time arguing for the importance of their advocacy efforts. “How are you as an association a solution?” West asked.

But economic anxiety seems to be the key driver of member issues—and association leaders’ concerns. “General economic pressures and financial uncertainty” was cited by 81 percent of respondents as the biggest factor impacting members. And 45 percent of respondents in the new survey said they expect their members’ economic situation to be “somewhat worse” in the coming year—a leap from 29 percent last year.

“Historically, the more economic hardship association members face, the less likely they were to engage with an association,” the report noted.

The report also noted that associations are increasingly at the mercy of employers for their ability to engage with members. In 2021, 37 percent of respondents said they were impacted by the “increased influence by employers on our members’ decisions”; in the new survey, that number is up to 50 percent. As employers opt to cut travel, sponsorship, and professional development budgets, associations are under increased pressure to demonstrate their value to decisionmakers. 

“It will be critical to establish business processes to monitor and adapt this value proposition to the changing needs of the market and the environment in which it operates,” the report said. 

“If we are not essential to what they need, we are where they adjust,” West said.

The report also suggests that associations need to get comfortable with adapting more rapidly to a more disruptive government and fast-evolving technologies, such as AI. West noted that in one recent meeting with association executives, nobody had a scenario-planning exercise before the 2024 presidential election to discuss possible responses to a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump presidency. 

And if member associations aren’t able to fill the gap, for-profit and other organizations are increasingly likely to step in. Forty-eight percent of respondents in the new survey said that for-profit organizations are a source of competition, up from 32 percent in 2021.

“[Members] are losing patience with how slow you are,” West said.